Salute to America, Independence Day – President Trump Delivers Remarks
America celebrates her 243rd birthday this year in 2019. President Donald Trump celebrated at the Lincoln Memorial on this Independence Day with a salute to America. We hear President Trump’s remarks as he shares about current events in America and the great history of our country.
President Trump begins with thanking the United States military and government officials. Continuing, he remarks, “As we gather this evening in the joy of freedom, we remember that we all share a truly extraordinary heritage. Together, we are part of one of the greatest stories ever told: the story of America. It is the epic tale of a great nation whose people have risked everything for what they know is right, and what they know is true. It is the chronicle of brave citizens who never give up on the dream of a better and brighter future. And it is the saga of thirteen separate colonies that united to form the most just and virtuous republic ever conceived.
“On this day, 243 years ago, our Founding Fathers pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to declare independence and defend our God-given rights. Thomas Jefferson wrote the words that forever changed the course of humanity: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” With a single sheet of parchment and 56 signatures, America began the greatest political journey in human history. But on that day, the patriots who would determine the ultimate success of the struggle were a hundred miles away in New York. There, the Continental Army prepared to make its stand, commanded by the beloved General George Washington. As the delegates debated the Declaration in Philadelphia, Washington’s army watched from Manhattan as a massive British invading fleet loomed dangerously across New York harbor. The British had come to crush the revolution in its infancy. Washington’s message to his troops laid bare the stakes. He wrote: “The fate of unborn millions will now depend, under God, on the courage and conduct of this army…We have, therefore, to resolve to conquer or die.” Days later, General Washington ordered the Declaration read aloud to the troops. The assembled soldiers just joined an excited crowd running down Broadway. They toppled a statue of King George and melted it into bullets for battle. The faraway King would soon learn a timeless lesson about the people of this majestic land: Americans love our freedom, and no one will ever take it away from us.
“That same American spirit that emboldened our founders has kept us strong throughout our history. To this day, that spirit runs through the veins of every American patriot. It lives on in each and every one of you here today. It is the spirit of daring and defiance, excellence and adventure, courage and confidence, loyalty and love that built this country into the most exceptional nation in the history of the world, and our nation is stronger today than it ever was before. It is its strongest now.
“That same righteous American spirit forged our glorious Constitution. That rugged American character led the legendary explorers, Lewis and Clark, on their perilous expedition across an untamed continent. It drove others to journey West and stake out their claim on the wild frontier. Devotion to our founding ideals led American patriots to abolish the evil of slavery, secure civil rights, and expand the blessings of liberty to all Americans. This is the noble purpose that inspired Abraham Lincoln to rededicate our nation to a new birth of freedom and to resolve that we will always have a government of, by, and for the people. Our quest for greatness unleashed a culture of discovery that led Thomas Edison to imagine his light bulb, Alexander Graham Bell to create the telephone, the Wright Brothers to look to the sky and see the next great frontier. For Americans, nothing is impossible.”
President Trump reminds us that only 50 years ago, Apollo 11 astronauts were launched into space and landed on the moon! He continues with other American’s accomplishments, “Our nation’s creativity and genius lit up the lights of Broadway and the sound stages of Hollywood. It filled the concert halls and airwaves around the world with the sound of jazz, opera, country, rock and roll, and rhythm and blues. It gave birth to the musical, the motion picture, the Western, the World Series, the Super Bowl, the skyscraper, the suspension bridge, the assembly line, and the mighty American automobile.”
He points out that Dr. Emil Freireich has led a breakthrough in treatment for leukemia. When he first began to work on this treatment, 99 percent of children with common leukemia died, and now 90 percent of the children survive!
Next, he introduced Tina Belcher from Florida. She is named “Mrs. Angel” as she has served people from her kitchen for 30 years when a hurricane hits the Florida panhandle. After Hurricane Michael, she served 476 people a warm meal in one day!
Also, a Sister Deirdre Byrne, who was an Army surgeon for almost 30 years, served at ground zero on September 11, 2001. Among the debris and smoke, she treated injuries to those in need and is now serving the poor in Washington, D.C.
“Our nation has always honored the heroes who serve our communities: the firefighters, first responders, police, sheriffs, ICE, Border Patrol, and all of the brave men and women of law enforcement. On this July 4th, we pay special tribute to the military service members who laid down their lives for our nation. We are deeply moved to be in the presence this evening of Gold Star families whose loved ones made the supreme sacrifice. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much.
“Throughout our history, our country has been made ever greater by citizens who risked it all for equality and justice. One hundred years ago, this summer, the women’s suffrage movement led Congress to pass the constitutional amendment giving women the right to vote. In 1960, a thirst for justice led African American students to sit down at the Woolworth lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina. It was one of the very first civil rights sit-ins, and it started a movement all across our nation.
“In 1963, Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., stood here on these very steps and called on our nation to live out the “true meaning of its creed,” and “let freedom ring” for every citizen all across our land…It has willed our warriors up mountains and across minefields. It has liberated continents, split the atom, and brought tyrants and empires to their knees. Our warriors form a hallowed roll call of American patriots, running all the way back to the first souls who fought and won American independence. Today, just as it did 243 years ago, the future of American freedom rests on the shoulders of men and women willing to defend it. We are proudly joined tonight by heroes from each branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, including three recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor. Thank you…”
America has done many great things to help not only our citizens but the people in other countries of the world! Many lives have been saved through Americans serving in our military and in other ways. If you have thought about joining the military, now is the time to join! What do you think about the freedom that we have in America? Are you in the military and if so, why did you join? We want to hear from you! Write to us at [email protected]. Greg and John shared in this segment.
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